Willie Neilson

William Neilson (18 August 1873 – 16 March 1960) was a

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player.Bath, p137 He was born in Thankerton House in

Holytown Holytown ( sco, 'Holy-Town' - Holytown, gd, Baile a' Chuilinn)

, near
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. Holytown was historically in Bothwell parish leading to some references to state Bothwell.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career
He attended
Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...
and was captain of the rugby and cricket sides and School Prefect. He represented Scotland at rugby while still attending Merchiston. Neilson played for West of Scotland in November 1886. He was still at school but playing for West's first team. He then left to go to
Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...
, where he also played rugby for the university before graduating BA in 1894. He played for London Scottish on his move to London as a barrister.

Provincial career
Neilson played for Glasgow District against North of Scotland District on 2 January 1886. Later that year Neilson played for Glasgow in the Inter-City match against Edinburgh District. He played for West of Scotland District against East of Scotland District on 26 January 1889. He was being released from
Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...
to play for Glasgow District.

International career
He was capped fourteen times for between 1891 and 1897. In 1891, he made his debut, along with his brother George in the game against . One of the four Neilson brothers played in each of the twenty five matches between Willie and George's debut in 1891, until 1899, when Robert had to withdraw from the
Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested be ...
line-up after breaking his nose.

Administrative career
He was vice-president of the
Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...
from 1904 to 1905.Simon Stanley
genealogy.com Neilson became
President of the Scottish Rugby Union The President of the Scottish Rugby Union is the figurehead of rugby union in Scotland. Origin In 1873, and directly after the Scotland versus England international match, representatives from eight Scottish rugby union sides came together in Gla ...
in 1905.

Cricket career
He played for the West of Scotland Cricket Club. He played cricket for Clare College while at Cambridge University.

Military career
He served in the 2nd Battalion of the
Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...
in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He was promoted to captain and was wounded in 1918 and taken as a Prisoner of War.

Law career
He then became a Barrister and settled in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. He was called to the Bar in 1896 at the Inner Temple.

Family
His father was James Neilson, an Ironmaster and second cousin of
Walter Montgomerie Neilson Walter Montgomerie Neilson (28 November 1819 – 8 July 1889) was a Scottish locomotive and marine engineer and manufacturer. He was born in Glasgow, the son of James Beaumont Neilson, inventor of the hot blast furnace. Walter was trained as an ...
and his mother was Jane Thomson, daughter of
George Thomson George Thomson may refer to: Government and politics * George Thomson (MP for Southwark) (c. 1607–1691), English merchant and Parliamentarian soldier, official and politician * George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth (1921–2008), Scottish p ...
, the famous Glasgow shipbuilder. Three of William's brothers,
George Thomson Neilson George Neilson was a Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, p137 Rugby union career Amateur He played for West of Scotland. Provincial He was capped by Glasgow District in the inter-city match of 5 December 1891. International ...
, Walter Gordon Neilson and Robert Thomson Neilson also played international rugby for Scotland. George and Robert were also Presidents of the SRU. The four brothers never got to play together, although on at least five occasions, various pairings played on the same team.

References
;Sources * Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ) * Thorburn, Sandy ''The History of Scottish Rugby'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Neilson, Willie 1873 births 1960 deaths Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players
Willie Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
People educated at Merchiston Castle School Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Presidents of the Scottish Rugby Union West of Scotland District (rugby union) players Glasgow District (rugby union) players West of Scotland FC players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players London Scottish F.C. players Rugby union players from North Lanarkshire Rugby union three-quarters